Switch
by xSpud.is.Jackx
Summary: REMAKE. Two old best friends reunite and decide to do the unthinkable: switch! But when one falls in love with the uninterested best friend and the other struggles to maintain her popularity status, things get a little out of hand. SoKai RoxNami R&R!
1. meet&greet

Switch.  
Chapter 1.  
Meet & Greet.

**!#&**

_"Namine!" a young, red-headed girl screamed, running across the lush grass of the neighborhood park._

_"You're not gonna catch me, Kairi!" the 5-year-old blonde shouted back to her best friend who was just yards behind._

_The girls continued their playing until Kairi's mother shouted out, "Okay, girls, time to go! Namine, I'll drop you off at your grandma's house."_

_"But Mommy!" Kairi complained, stamping her purple sandals against the sidewalk's cement. Namine just put her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. No, she didn't want to leave, but she hadn't lived such a spoiled life and knew not to complain._

_"Honey, don't you want to go to your first cheerleading practice?" Kairi's mother offered._

_The peppy little girl's face immediately brightened. "Well, maybe me and Ne-Ne can play again tomorrow?" Kairi asked, grabbing Namine's hand._

_"My mommy and daddy are coming home tomorrow…," Namine whispered._

_However no one heard the little girl's mumbles and the three walked out of the park, the two little girls' hands still intertwined._

**(NAMINE)**

Namine eyes slowly lifted as they met the morning sun's rays of light. She sat up and yawned, knowing that today she couldn't sleep in. Today was her first day at her new school.

It had all started when Tidus got expelled from Destiny Islands High in the middle of their sophomore year right after Winter Break. To make a long story short, a prank on the principal had landed him and a few innocent bystanders in the hospital. It was then decided that Tidus would attend school at the Orichalcum Boarding School. That's where his parents were sending him. Wakka, Tidus's best friend, begged his own parents to let him transfer there as well. Then Selphie pushed to go, too, and soon even Sora decided to tag along.

Namine didn't want to be left alone, so she wrote a letter to her parents asking for permission. At first, her parents refused to spend the extra money, but Namine's grandmother was able to convince them, saying that it would only lessen their burdens and worries if Namine stayed at a boarding school seeing as how they were hardly ever home anyway. That was when Namine realized that there would be a chance that she wouldn't see her parents again until summer, if they decided to come home during that time. And then most of her worries were gone.

Today, Namine and her friends were jumping on a train and heading to Twilight Town, which was just three hours away and was where Orichalcum was located. Namine looked through her already packed clothes, forgetting to set aside an outfit for today. She threw on some simple white lounge pants and a teal form-fitting t-shirt. In case it got a little chilly, she took out a gray short-sleeved hoodie. Namine had never really grown up with a lot of money, so although most of her clothes were cute, they were also simple and plain.

The teenage blonde glanced at her alarm clock. The glowing red letters showed 6:30. A little early for Namine's taste, but necessary if they were to catch the only train that was heading to Twilight Town that day. She headed to the downstairs part of the loft that she lived in – by herself most days – for she knew that Selphie should be or was already here to pick her up.

**(KAIRI)**

Kairi awoke to her ringing alarm clock. She relaxed to the fact that she did not have to go to the school gym today for her morning workout. Standing up from her bed, she crossed to the other side of her dorm to the closet. Kairi, well frankly, had a lot of money. Well, her family had a lot of money. And Kairi took advantage of this. She liked buying different clothes that most teenage girls would be embarrassed to wear. And for that reason, Kairi was the only girl at her school who owned most of these articles of clothing. And for that reason, she was admired by every girl at her school.

But it wasn't just her fashion sense that brought her attention. Her popularity also had to do with the fact that she was the head cheerleader. And seeing as Kairi's high school was a huge, expensive boarding school, it was a major deal.

Anyway, Kairi opened her closet and pulled out a royal blue camisole that had a pretty crochet pattern on it. She seemed to study it before she stripped off her pajama top and pulled on the cami. She then took out a matching blue-and-white-striped cardigan and pulled that over.

She then moved over towards her dresser and pulled out two different bottoms: a pair of skinny gray jeans and a navy blue mini-skirt. She seemed to put each pair of bottoms in front of her in the mirror a hundred times before she finally decided on the pants and pulled them on.

Last, she slipped on a pair of blue suede flats. She pulled her soft auburn hair out of its bun and brushed it out, letting it rest upon her shoulders.

She looked at her image in the mirror and sighed contentedly. She then grabbed her backpack and headed out of her dorm room to Orichalcum's dining hall.

She was met in the hallway by her across-the-hall neighbors, Rikku and Yuffie. "Hey, girls," she greeted them while pulling out a stick of lipgloss and wiping it across her lips with a single perfect "_swish."_

"Hey, Kairi," the two fellow teenagers responded in unison.

"Kairi," Rikku said, "you're outfit seems a little… plain today." She gave Kairi an almost sympathetic smile.

"Yes, I know, I was feeling a bit uncreative this morning," Kairi replied unenthusiastically. She didn't like that her fashion was being criticized, but she also couldn't show weakness.

"B-but you still look great!" Yuffie recovered for the two of them before shooting Rikku an evil glare.

At this a smirk appeared on Kairi's face. That was more like it. The three cheerleaders strode down the hallway, walking in perfect agreement with the other. They walked this way even when they went out of the girls' dorm, after they went across campus to the dining hall. Every person they passed had to turn their heads.

"Yo, Kairi!" a boy called out to them just as the three were about to enter the dining hall.

"We'll talk to you later, Kairi," Rikku said before she and Yuffie walked inside.

Kairi waved at them and walked forward to meet Riku with a kiss on the cheek. Riku, star quarterback of Orichalcum's football team. Silver, shoulder-length hair, and deep blue-green eyes. He had muscles, but he wasn't buffed out. They were perfectly toned. But that arm of his had won Orichalcum the championship… again. It was true; Riku had been the only freshman to make the starting team. He had then went and made quarterback--another first--and then won them the championship—something that wasn't expected to be done ever again. He had then come back last year and this year and done it all again. However, now that football season was over, he was able to spend his time partying, which he also seemed to have a natural-born talent for. Oh, and spend time with his girlfriend, Kairi.

Soon, the rest of the clique joined the two, including Hayner and a few other jocks. Some cheerleaders were there, too. Olette and Pence also arrived, although they stayed behind a little like always. Riku slung his arm around Kairi and the king and queen of Orichalcum entered the dining hall.

**(NAMINE)**

Namine was silent on the way to the train station in the backseat of Selphie's mother's car. Selphie herself was asleep in the passenger seat. The girl was too used to sleeping in. Heck, even on most school days she was late because of oversleeping.

The ride was only 15 minutes long, so soon Namine was able to stepp out of the car. She unloaded her stuff and Selphie unloaded hers. Selphie was still drowsy and almost whacked Namine in the face with one of her bags when she stretched and yawned. The two then lugged their bags into the train station. While Selphie's mother talked with the people who worked at the train station about tickets and whatnot, Selphie rested her head on Namine's shoulder while Namine kept a lookout for Sora, Tidus, or Wakka.

No more than five minutes later, Namine spotted Sora's spiky, chocolate hair. She jumped up, awakening Selphie in the process, and motioned Sora over. After Sora spotted his friend, he put on a huge grin and gave her a thumbs-up sign.

"Namine, it's not like you to act so peppy," Sora said as he approached the area where Namine and Selphie had been standing.

Namine blushed once she realized that she was acting out of character. "I'm just… excited I guess."

Sora set down his bags and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I see where you're coming from. A new adventure, right?" he said, giving Namine another goofy grin.

Soon, Tidus and Wakka also arrived, actually just ten minutes before the train was going to leave. Typical. Once everyone had gotten their tickets and stuff arranged, they said their goodbyes to their parents and boarded the train. The seats were arranged so that it was four people per booth. At first the five tried to see if they could all fit into one booth, but after Selphie complained that she wanted to have someplace to lie down, Tidus and Wakka sought out their own booth.

While Selphie snored away, Sora turned to Namine, who was next to him, and asked, "So, what are your goals for this new school?"

"Goals?" Namine asked, confused by the question.

"Oh, come on, Namine. Think about it. Except for your best friends, you're starting over. This is your chance to be whatever you want to be."

Namine looked out the window in thought. What did she want to be? She had always been perfectly happy with her current self. She had her friends and her grandma. She would have done anything to change her parents but…

Namine shook her head, trying to magically shake out the thoughts of her parents. She was going to this school to get away from all that.

"Honestly, Sora, I don't think I have any goals," Namine said, shrugging and then looking down in her lap shyly.

"Right, Namine," Sora said sarcastically. "Hmm… I think that this year… I want to find 'the one.'" He sat back in his seat with a satisfactory grin across his face.  
Namine couldn't help. She giggled. "I'm sorry, Sora, but isn't that… a little corny?" she asked, now looking into Sora's sky blue orbs.

Sora's smile lightened, but a small one was still visible on his face. "Yeah, maybe."

Namine smiled back, but went back to looking out the window. _What do I want to be?_

After the train finally arrived in Twilight Town, the group of five realized that the train station was right down the street from the school. Probably had to do with the fact that this _was _a boarding school.

They entered the first building, which had the words Orichalcum across the top of it and Main Office in a slightly smaller font underneath it. Once inside, an annoyed-looking secretary handed them each a folder. Inside were a schedule, a rules packet, their room assignment, and a room key.

Namine gently sifted through her folder until she found her room assignment paper. Selphie suddenly grabbed her arm and turned her around. "PLEASE tell me you got room 233."

"Uh, h-hold on," Namine stammered, scanning her paper quickly. "I got…101."

"Boo, Namine! Now we're both probably stuck with some loser kids!" Selphie pouted.

Namine's stomach clenched. She hadn't thought about having a roommate. And it was going to be a person she didn't even know! She glanced over towards Sora, who gave her a bright grin and raised her confidence a little. _"You can be whoever you want to be."_

The boys' and girls' dorms were located in two different buildings. Since it was too late for them to go to class, the group decided that they would meet up after unpacking their stuff to explore campus. Namine and Selphie walked to their building to see that it had four stories.

"And this is only about half the student population," Selphie gasped, as she continued to lug her suitcase into the brick building.

They entered into a common room sort of area that had a mini-kitchen, many couches and chairs, a huge plasma-screen T.V., and other sorts of things used for entertainment. Selphie squealed with delight, but Namine just stared around in awe. The room had so many bright colors!

The two stepped into the elevator. Namine pressed the 1st floor button and Selphie the 2nd. When the door opened to let Namine out, Namine gave the brunette a small, nervous wave, and then headed down the hallway. The carpet was tan and the walls were a light pink. Everywhere there were posters and flyers demanding people to join the art club or come to the cafeteria after school to protest putting meat in the school lunches. Finally, all the way at the end of the hallway, Namine reached Room 101. She again went through her folder until finding her key.

When Namine opened the door she was purely amazed. The entire room was decked out with posters of today's popular musical artists. There were also many picture frames filled with happy memories and a lot of trophies. Even though there were two beds, one had been surrounded by pillows to make a couch. Namine put her two bags on there. She then went over to the dresser on her side of the room and opened it up. But instead of emptiness, she found clothes. She went into her closet; clothes. She also went into the other dresser and closet to find clothes in there as well. Namine was confused. Did two people already live in here?

Namine glanced around nervously. The school must have made a mistake. There was absolutely no room for her here. Suddenly the door opened and Namine's stomach clenched again. Here it goes.

The redhead was smacking gum and examining her cuticles before she looked up and screamed. Namine's eyes widened. "N-no, don't worry! I-I'm your roommate!" She then blushed and then put her hands behind her back.

"R-Roommate?!" the other girl objected.

"I knew the school made a mistake, I'll just get my stuff," Namine said as she hurriedly dashed for her bags. "You probably already have a roommate, right?"

"No I don't, I just wasn't expecting… _you,_" the redhead said, glancing the terrified blonde up and down. "Hm, maybe I finally do get a roomie." Suddenly a big smile spread across the redhead's face and she stuck her hand out. "I'm Kairi Iwasaki!"

Namine let go of her bags. This girl was strange, but she seemed nice enough. "I used to have a friend named Kairi. My name's Namine Ebina," she said, grabbing Kairi's hand and gripping almost too tightly.

"Hm, that's weird, I used to have a friend named Namine! You remind me of her, too," Kairi said, crossing to her side of the room, and sitting upon it gracefully.

"Um, Kairi, all the dressers are full," Namine blurted out. _Gosh, why'd I have to sound so rude?_

"Oh, hm, they are, aren't they?" Kairi wondered aloud, putting a finger to her chin. She shrugged. "I suppose I could just throw the clothes in there out. The ones in that closet, too. I never really wear those anymore."

Namine just stared as Kairi went through the closet and drawers, pulling out the clothes and emptying them into a huge box. Once the box was full and Namine's side of the room was rid of Kairi's belongings, the redhead exited the room with it. And again Namine glanced around the room nervously, thinking how odd this year would probably be.

**(KAIRI)**

As soon as Kairi exited the room with her box of old clothes, Rikku and Yuffie also exited theirs like some little lost puppies.

"Kairi, what's in the box?" Rikku asked, slightly lifting a flap.

"Old clothes," Kairi said. "I'm putting them in the dumpster."

"But why?" Yuffie asked, staring forlornly at the expensive clothing articles. "Can't we go through them a little and-."

"No," Kairi interrupted sternly. "Yuffie, I already have to deal with some new freak as a roommate, I don't need you acting like a beggar."

"Freak roommate?" Rikku questioned.

"Yeah, she's totally the opposite of me and I think she might have some problems. She like, almost tore my arm off when I went to shake her hand and she blurts out things she doesn't mean to say. I can tell," Kairi said, whiffing her nose into the air and rolling her eyes.

"So why are you getting rid of your clothes for her? Why don't you just complain to the office like you do every year?" Yuffie interrogated, a look of confusion on her face.

"Because," Kairi answered simply, "she used to be my best friend."


	2. alittleinsight

Switch.  
Chapter 2.  
A Little Insight.

**!#&**

**(NAMINE)**

Namine waited. And waited. But it didn't seem as though Kairi was coming back. Namine thought back and remembered that Kairi hadn't exactly said that she would be back, but it still would have been nice to hear a "bye" at least.

Namine sighed and finally put her clothes away. Although there wasn't any way that her clothes would fill up both the closet and dresser, she didn't want Kairi to know that. So she made sure to spread her clothes out. The piles were low, but if Kairi didn't look too closely, maybe she wouldn't notice. As long as each drawer had something in it.

Namine waited another five minutes, just to make sure. Yeah, Kairi wasn't coming back. Sighing, Namine left the room, making sure to lock the door on her way out, and headed back towards the main lobby of the girl dorms. There was Selphie, lounged on the couch.

"Selphie, did you meet your roommate?" Namine asked, daintily taking a seat next to her friend.

"No, she already went to class," Selphie replied, sitting up a little more. She looked worried though. "But she seems like a huh-UGE bookworm! There were books everywhere!" Selphie exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. She sighed and then cupped her chin in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. "How about you?"

Namine bit her lip. "Well, yeah, she was there… She's pretty nice. Her name's Kairi. And she's, uh, pretty rich. Really pretty, I guess."

"That sucks," Selphie said bluntly.

Namine turned her head towards the brunette. "How so?" she questioned, cocking her head to the side.

"Well, she's probably a cheerleader. That's annoying in itself. And you said rich? Whoa, snob alert! Pretty… Well, at least you have that going for you, too."

Namine was silent. "Wooow, Selph."

Suddenly Wakka bursted into the building. "What the heck are we waiting for, guys? Orichalcum awaits!" He had made, I guess you could say, a dramatic entrance. His voice was loud, his arm pointing towards the door.

Selphie got up and smacked Wakka across the head. "You're an idiot." She walked out, with Wakka following, rubbing his head and mumbling something along the lines, "Just trying to have fun."

Namine giggled and rolled her eyes. How she loved her friends.

The rest of the guys were waiting outside. Sora had approached Selphie and was talking to her, and Tidus was busy climbing a tree. Namine laughed and ran up to the tree, yanking on Tidus' foot.

"Ow!" Tidus exclaimed before slipping from the tree and landing back on his feet.

"A little early to get in trouble, isn't it, Tidus?" Namine questioned, putting her hands on her hips but smiling.

"Hey, a little head start wouldn't hurt," he replied before sticking his tongue out at her.

Sora walked over and slapped his arm around Namine's shoulder. "So, are we gonna start walking or not?" Namine laughed and pushed him away.

"Yeah, let's go to Elixir Square first!" Selphie exclaimed, pushing her forward with a map in hand. "That's where all the shopping needs are!"

**(KAIRI)**

What could Kairi say? Today had just been a normal day. Same classes, same teachers, same lunch, same people. A buzz was going around about five new students at Orichalcum. Three boys and two girls. Kairi knew one of the girls was her roommate, her former best friend. She wondered if perhaps one of the boys was…

"Kairi, would you wait UP?" Rikku shouted, pushing her way through the throng of people in the crowded hallway. Kairi groaned. How she hated her friends.

"Rikku, if you can't keep up, then you're not fit to walk with me," Kairi replied in a loud tone. Kairi glanced back and saw Rikku now just standing back, a pouting look on her face.

Kairi kept marching, past all the lockers, past all the people that didn't matter. She continued until she was out of the school.

"Hey, babe," Riku said, slinging his arm around the redhead. When his greeting met no reply, Riku said, "Hey, answer, please?" His grip on her tightened. "There are people watching," he added in a lower tone, his teeth practically clenched.

Kairi rolled her eyes and grabbed Riku's hand. After closing her eyes for a second, she put on a big smile and looked at her boyfriend. "Hi, sweetie."

Riku led Kairi down to the picnic tables and sat the both of them down. After glancing around the area, making sure no one was in ear shot, he whispered in a tense tone, "What exactly is your problem lately?"

Kairi sucked her bottom lip, making a little 'pop' sound. "What do you mean, _honey_?"

"That, Kairi, that!" Riku replied, pounding his fist on the tabletop. Kairi didn't flinch.

"Well, to be frank, Riku, you're getting a little annoying. A little too pompous for my taste."

"Sorry, Princess, that's how it is. Things aren't exactly gonna change, so I need you to pull your little PMS act together. Gossip's like freaking wildfire."

Kairi knew she was better than this. Or, at least she knew she _could_ be better than this. But… Riku was a big part of her popularity. And with cheerleading season over, there wasn't anything else that could support her. Although Kairi had built quite a bit of a reputation over the years, she just wouldn't be seen as an icon anymore. She would be seen with flaws, and people didn't take to worshiping people with flaws. Plus, Riku was never without a girlfriend. Whoever he chose next would instantly fill her spot. And who would that be? Rikku? Yuffie? Kairi thought she would rather be fat than see one of them higher on the popularity scale than her.

Kairi held down her puke as she hissed, "Fine." She gathered up her things and stood up from the table. "Now are you gonna walk me home or not?" she asked, putting on another fake smile.

Riku smirked but stood up from the table and led the way to the girls' dorm.

**(NAMINE)**

"Sora, shut up! I really thought that this place would have a mall!" Selphie whined while Sora chuckled remembering Selphie's face when she found out the 'bad news.'

The day had been fun, Namine wasn't going to lie. There were no students about, so her and her friends were able to romp and play as they pleased. They had discovered the locations of all the future places that they were sure to visit and hang out at, including some places that would come in handy like the infirmary and market. However, they had stayed out way past the actual school day had ended, and it was actually pretty close to the school's curfew, which was 10:00 on school nights.

Namine yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Oof!" she exclaimed as she tripped over her own feet. She was pulled back up by strong, firm hands. Any of the guys, she knew.

"Whoa, watch it Nam, it's not even the first day yet!" Sora said, moving around to give Namine a piggyback ride.

Namine giggled and jumped onto Sora's back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sora gripped her legs and then took off at a jolt. Namine could hear Selphie's voice complaining, "Why don't you guys ever give ME rides?" and an answer from Tidus stating that Selphie's arrogance was a little too heavy.

Soon, Sora slowed to a walk, but kept Namine on his back. There were almost to the girls' dorm. "Hey, Sora?" Namine said, looking down into Sora's chocolate spikes. She could feel a blush coming on.

"Yeah, Namine?"

"Well, I was just wondering… Are you nervous about tomorrow?" She practically mumbled the last few words, she wondered if Sora heard them.

Sora chuckled. "Why would I be?"

Namine sighed and said quietly, "I don't know…"

Sora felt the mood and sighed as well. "Aw, Nam, don't be scared! Some new people, big deal! They're gonna love you. Well, not as much as me, but DEFINITELY more than Tidus!"

Namine could hear his smile. "You don't know that," Namine said stubbornly. "They'll probably all hate me. Or worse. Ignore me like they did at Destiny Islands."

"Namine, the only reason they 'ignored' you was because you never talked, you never participated, you hardly noticed your own existence." Namine fake coughed. "Gah, what I'm trying to say, Namine, is that you only have a need to be scared if you intend to do that all over again."

By that time, the dorms had been reached. Namine didn't say a word as she climbed off of Sora's back. When Namine still didn't say anything to Sora, Sora instead said, "Night, Namine."

Namine turned around and looked at Sora, seriously intending to stick her tongue out at him for embarrassing her. But he the sweetest, gentlest, most impossible-to-be-mad-at smile on, and she couldn't help but return it to her best friend and wave goodbye.


End file.
